Celebrating Martyn Hett

Posted June 16, 2017

We are very grateful and extremely touched to be chosen by the family of Martyn Hett to be one of the charities to benefit from the fundraising page that has been set up in his memory and to celebrate his life.

Beacon has a special connection to Martyn’s mum, Figen Murray, who has been a strong supporter of Beacon for many years. Figen helped us to start our training programme for counsellors, she volunteered as a trustee for several years, and more recently donated to Beacon proceeds from the sale of her teddy bears for mental health.

We are so sad that Martyn has gone. We didn’t get to know him as well as we would have liked but he was clearly a special person who made a positive impact on the lives of many. Our hearts go out to his family and all others who are close to him. We are proud to be chosen as one of the supported charities and will make use of funds to provide support to people experiencing trauma.

How Beacon can help

As a counselling organisation, Beacon can offer appropriate local support to anyone affected by the bombing that took place on the 22nd May 2017. We realise this has impacted on the lives of thousands of people, children and families across Greater Manchester.

Fears and anxieties are normal after such an extreme incident, and can be normalised by encouraging the person to talk, and offering them understanding and time.

Immediate counselling or trauma therapy is not usually recommended, as research indicates this has no beneficial effect for the first month (this can be different for older children). Providing a psychological therapy is recommended if symptoms persist or worsen in number or intensity 1-to-6 months after the event.

If people are unable to process the traumatic event, this may well turn into PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) months after the traumatic event. In these cases 1-1 counselling may be needed to reduce symptoms. Also, if someone is already dealing with a significant trauma or loss this may make them less able to process a more recent one.

We are able to offer support through 1-1 counselling, but we recognise that for the first few weeks the best support is talking things through naturally with family, friends.

Your Donation

By donating to the fundraising page you are helping local charities improve more people’s lives for the better. Thank you for your kind support!